“And lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:9a-10 NASB).

I always loved going to Santa’s Workshop when I was in elementary school. I would save my weekly allowance and take it to school on the day my class would be scheduled to visit and shop. I still vividly remember walking through the crowded tables that were set up on the stage in the gym, looking for items for all the names on my list: my parents, my brother, and my grandparents. One year as I was diligently shopping, I saw a little heart shaped tin that had a candle in it. The lid of the tin said, “You light up my life.” I was so excited, as that was my favorite song. I would often turn on my record player and listen to Debby Boone singing it. When I finished getting the items on my list, I still had money left over so I went back to the table with the candle, and bought it for myself. When I got home, I put the heart-shaped tin on my dresser next to my record player, and there it stayed for several years.

As I sit and play the song in my mind, it says, “And you light up my life, you give me hope to carry on, you light up my days and fill my nights with song.” In Matthew’s gospel we have an account of a star appearing to announce the birth of Jesus, the King of the Jews (Mt. 2:1-2). This star eventually led the magi to the Child so that they could worship him. This great star, with its light shining brightly in the sky, led to the Child who would eternally light up our lives. It is Jesus, our Savior, who gives our lives true light, and who gives us hope to carry on each and every day. Jesus is the light of the world (Jn. 9:5), and it is Jesus who provides us a “living hope” (1 Pet. 1:3).

This Christmas as we sit in our darkened rooms and enjoy the soft light provided by our Christmas trees, may we remember how much greater is the light provided by Christ in our darkened world. We have hope for today and tomorrow because of the birth of the Son of God; the birth that announced to the world the arrival of true light, true hope, true joy, and true love among us. May we sing to our Lord Jesus Christ, “You light up my life, you give me hope to carry on, you light up my days and fill my nights with song.”